International MOONBOTS Competition Launches, Challenging Next
Generation of Space Explorers

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Google
Lunar XPRIZE announced the final MOONBOTS
Challenge, an international competition that inspires the next
generation of space explorers and innovators and is also known as the
“Google Lunar XPRIZE for Kids.” The MOONBOTS Challenge, which invites
kids ages 8 to 17 to create a video of what they would leave behind on
the Moon as a legacy and design and program their own lunar rover, will
for the first time provide an opportunity for finalists to send
personalized video messages to the Moon, as part of the Google Lunar
XPRIZE teams’ missions.

The MOONBOTS Challenge is inspired by the $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE, a
global incentivized competition that was launched to challenge and
inspire engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world to develop
low-cost methods of robotic space exploration and ignite a new era of
space exploration. The Google Lunar XPRIZE is in its final phase with
five privately funded teams preparing to initiate their launch to the
Moon by December 31, 2017. The sixth and final MOONBOTS Challenge will
also provide an opportunity for one grand prize winner to go on a
once-in-a-lifetime trip to meet with a finalist Google Lunar XPRIZE team.

“As we embark on the final leg of the MOONBOTS Challenge, the next
generation of space travelers will get an opportunity to tell us what is
most important to them, and actually leave that legacy behind on the
Moon,” said Chanda Gonzales-Mowrer, senior director, Google Lunar
XPRIZE. “We really want to get kids excited about space exploration and
the associated STEM disciplines, and we welcome newcomers from all
countries and communities to join the competition and help inspire kids
all over the world.”

In order to enter the competition, teams, comprised of two to four
members and one team captain that is 18+ years old, are asked to submit
a two-minute video about what they would leave behind on the Moon as a
legacy. Registration for the MOONBOTS Challenge is officially open
through March 15, 2017 and there is no charge to enter.

A panel of judges from the International Space University will select 12
teams by April 2017 to qualify and those teams will be provided one of
three robotics platforms (LEGO® MINDSTORMS® EV3, VEX IQ, MECCANO™
Meccanoid 2.0) to build and program a unique simulated robotic mission,
based on the legacy in the video they submitted. Additionally, they are
asked to provide a demonstration to the judges via live webcast and
contribute to STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education
by sharing their innovation with children and adults in their community.
The announcement of the grand prize winner will be made in July 2017.

Since 2010, MOONBOTS has had hundreds of teams sign-up and has
challenged thousands of young people from all around the world. In
addition to the Google Lunar XPRIZE, competition partners include FIRST®
LEGO® League, VEX Robotics Inc., LEGO Education,
Parentesis.com, MECCANO™, GeekDad, GeekMom, Robomatter, Inc. and Dexter
Industries.

The $30M Google Lunar XPRIZE is an unprecedented competition to
challenge and inspire engineers and entrepreneurs from around the world
to develop low-cost methods of robotic space exploration. To win the
Google Lunar XPRIZE, a privately funded team must successfully place a
robot on the Moon’s surface that explores at least 500 meters and
transmits high-definition video and images back to Earth. Visit http://lunar.xprize.org/ or @GLXP for
more information.